AI Foundations · free starter
See what needs you before opening another tab.
Start with a sample dashboard and guide, then give Claude the context for your own business view and a brief you can check.
Free AI starter kit
The starter is free. Building your own dashboard and scheduled brief needs a paid Claude plan and the Claude desktop app; connections need setup.
I ran Studio Moku and founded Design Match before Switchboards. This starter comes from the AI setup I use to keep track of my own business.
Danielle Thompson, founder of Switchboards
You’re the founder, the sales team, the support desk and the bookkeeper. AI can take the first pass at most of it.
Set up in the free starter
Now:
You open five tabs before breakfast to work out who replied, what’s due and whether anyone paid.
With AI:
Prepare a short brief from information you supply or supported inbox and calendar connections: what changed, what’s due and what needs you.
Set up in the free starter
Now:
Some weeks you’re scared to look at the numbers, so the review slides to next week, and then the week after.
With AI:
Each Friday the review guide walks you through what moved and the one thing worth fixing. See how an AI weekly business review works.
Next, not included
Now:
Replies pile up while you’re doing the client work, and follow-ups go out days late.
With AI:
Your AI can use the business context you provide to draft a reply or follow-up. You check it and send.
Next, not included
Now:
You know you should post more, but by the time the client work is done, so is your day.
With AI:
Your own notes and emails can become draft posts for review. Publishing is a separate setup, outside this starter.
Start with the sample and guides. Your own dashboard and connected brief need additional setup.
Visualize
Use the guide to brief Claude on your business, then adapt the sample dashboard with information you provide.
Automate
Prepare a brief with your personal AI assistant. Scheduling needs paid Claude Desktop and compatible inbox and calendar connections; first check the information you supply.
Optimize
Use the weekly review guide to check what changed and choose one thing to fix. Refresh the dashboard with current information before drawing conclusions.
Choosing what to hand to AI first? Start with how to use AI in your business, then open AI Foundations and set it up tonight.
No. It’s AI Foundations, a free 20-minute starter for anyone running a business. When you want your posting handled too, The Social Machine is the live next step.
Start with the sample tonight in about 20 minutes. Personalising it and connecting accounts can take longer; check the first brief before relying on a schedule.
The sample needs no account. Your own setup uses paid Claude Desktop; inbox and calendar access need compatible connections and permission.
You decide what goes in. You can leave client names out, or practise on the sample business before you add anything of your own.
The sample works without an account. Building your own dashboard and scheduled brief needs a paid Claude plan and the Claude desktop app, with connections configured.
Open the sample, follow the guide and prepare a first brief from the information you have.
The starter is free; your own setup needs paid Claude Desktop. Signup also includes Switchboards emails.